The Long Way Home
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: The draft shakes things up, gives people chances to prove themselves to the others and change things in the direction they want to... but it also stirs up feelings that force some choices to the surface.


_**7/19/16, WWE Draft, 20 minutes ago…**_

 _Amanda hadn't been expecting the door to her locker room to open… but when it did, she turned and her eyes widened._

" _Finn, aren't you supposed to be back in Orlando?" Amanda asked but smiled as the two hugged for a few minutes and Finn's right hand rested on her upper back for a bit longer._

" _Well, me and most of the NXT roster decided to crash the draft tonight, see who's gonna end up where… and I was going stir crazy without you there in Orlando." Finn answered as they made their way to the main part of the backstage area where the three rosters were crowded around the monitors._

 _Stephanie and Mick were on their next pick… and Amanda started to tense a bit, Finn lightly squeezing her right hand in a reassuring manner._

 _Amanda let out a happy shriek after the announcement as she and Finn hugged and she laughed as he spun her around... Finn had been drafted up to Raw, was finally on the main roster and both him and Amanda were ecstatic._

" _Enjoy it while it lasts!" Maryse says loudly in a tone mixed of snobiness and sarcasm, Miz lightly nudging his wife before she walked over to the catering area and he walked to the two._

" _Put her on the ground before she throws up on you, Balor. She just ate a half hour ago." Miz says, Finn putting Amanda on the floor and the two letting go after another minute._

" _That hug lasted a bit longer than your usual embraces, something going on here other than joy over Finn being called up to the main roster?" He asks Amanda in a joking tone._

" _Michael!" Amanda exclaimed, trying to hide her light red face by burying herself into Finn's left shoulder and Finn rubbing his right hand up and down her back._

" _Oh if it does happen, it probably start with something like this." Finn said, Amanda letting out a startled noise mixed of a yelp and a laugh when his right hand smacked against her ass._

 _But that noise made Seth run over, his worry giving way to rage and him trying to attack Finn._

" _Get your fucking hands off her, Balor!" Seth yelled, Miz managing to restrain him._

" _Calm down, Rollins! He's just joking with her!" Miz said, trying to calm the younger man down._

" _Slapping her on her ass is disrespectful, joking or not!" Seth raged, Miz dragging him away._

" _Talk about a crazy welcome to the main roster… but normal would be boring anyway." Finn said as he and Amanda hugged._

" _And we'll get to spend more time together." Amanda says, resting her head on Finn's left shoulder._

 _They were both exhausted like everyone else… but it was all worth it._

 **Present time** _ **, Amanda Cena vs Charlotte**_ **…**

The match progressed back and forth, each reversing the other's holds and Charlotte shoving Amanda to the mat and yelling "Woo!" like Ric would.

Amanda smirked a bit as she stood up while Charlotte was boasting, Amanda lunging at her and knocking her down before locking Charlotte in the Mistress Chamber… immediately, Charlotte tapped out and Amanda let go, slipped out of the ring and hugged Finn, who spun her around as Dana checked on Charlotte.

But when they were backstage, Amanda stopped and sat down on a crate to catch her breath.

"You okay there, lass?" Finn asked, his hands resting on Amanda's shoulders.

"Yeah, just feeling a bit rushed from the fast pace out there…" Amanda answered as she readjusted her navy and silver ring shorts, feeling a brief spasm in the bottom of her left foot… normally, it wasn't painful but the shove had twisted her ankle a bit.

And Amanda didn't want anything to stall the momentum that was building now… but as always, Finn could sense that she was holding back and carefully sat down, pulling her left leg up onto his lap.

"Right there?" Finn asked after lightly pressing his thumb and index finger on both sides of Amanda's ankle and carefully moving her foot with his right hand… Amanda hissed slightly as another dull ache spasmed through it.

"Yep. We've all gotten rough in that ring a time or two." Amanda answered as Charlotte reached them.

"Hey, sorry about that out there. You alright?" Charlotte questioned.

"Yeah, just jarred it a bit. Nothing that can't be fixed." Amanda answered as she and Charlotte hugged and Charlotte and Finn helped Amanda up to her feet.

"Well you get it fixed up, you stay by her side… and no funny business, Balor." Charlotte responds, the last part directed at Finn before the blonde left after she and Amanda hugged again.

"Damn… not even an hour into being on Raw and that starts up again." Finn said as he picked Amanda up and took her to their locker room, setting her on the couch and quickly unlacing her boot.

"I don't think it's gonna stop anytime soon." Amanda says as she pulled her boot and sock off, stretching her toes a bit to ease the stiffness before feeling a gel pack being put on it.

"Down in NXT, they aren't as hostile to each other but are to the main roster wrestlers… here, it's more of a _'Prove yourself or you ain't holding our attention.'_ kind of mentality amongst the older ones… the ones who've been here longer. But I caught your attention quickly when we first met at the Performance Centre." Finn said as he propped Amanda's ankle up on a pillow and she pulled her long curly hair into a messy bun.

"We both started out young in this business... but I didn't take the opportunities, the risks that you did." Amanda replied after a few seconds.

"I would've liked to see what you could've done over in New Japan Pro Wrestling, lass… I think you would've liked it but a heads up, it's a complete culture shock." Finn says as his fingers trailed up Amanda's left arm.

Across the arena in his own locker room, Seth was looking at old photos of him and Amanda… before putting them away as the door opened and Roman walked in.

"All a bit too much to take in tonight?" Roman asked.

"There's a small part of me that wishes I'd been drafted to SmackDown." Seth answered, readjusting his wrist wraps.

He was really starting to miss the bond he had with Amanda… but his pride was keeping him from admitting that.


End file.
